Package for natural sausage casings and method of curing and packing the same



Sept. 7, 1943. G, J, LORANT 2,329,064

PACKAGE FOR NATURAL sAUs'AGE cAsINGs AND METHOD oF CURING AND PACKING THE SAME Filed NOV. 8, 1940 INVENTOR :TNI-:5555 George JILorfanZ' www BY f f'. j eservc'z Lila /4 Soluion Tar/lr.

, ATTORNEY5 Y' Patented Sept. 7, 1943 V2',.. 29,'ori" Fon .NATURAL .sAUsAGEf oAsv Ines;V AND. Aivr'lrzlHoD on CURING AND rnonrneirns SAME. l

Y George J. 'Loraine New York, YE, .assigner to? lVIorfgoli'avr flrnporting Co.,4 Inc.;

.Applieatioantymiter s, 1940, seraineesrsse 3 claims. (el: sie- 115) =Thisinvention-relates to anew method of curing and packing natural sausage. oasings'and YValsotd-an `improved natural v sausage casing v package. Y -f i Natu lal sausage casings; `aregenerally made'. goats and;

preserving and `packingnatural sausage` ThusV it'inl in turn V.reduced thefusefulness and'. value of the casingsy .the-casingsma 'ng them unfit for use.

I 'When the customers, i. e. vsausage 'manufactu-reis,` purchased the casings itA v was necessary. to-'Wash oftthesalt, carefully and painstakingly unwind..the..hank, and soak it in Water until it-became ,pliable andsoit. It will alsobe apf preciated thatgbothinthe yformation and in the volves a wasteful applicationof commonsalt asy vaicuring` agent, necessitates excessive amount of laborboth by the. packer.` and. user, and results in a great dealer` Wastage of they casings by the packer anduser.

K' i It is aprirne object vof the present invention to overcome 'these diiculties and v to provide an improved method and packageffor natural. sausage casings Whichjeliminates.orminimizessthe lWastingy pfv salt orA other and. user, vand avoids Wastage of the cas'ings themselves i InAk the packing of natural sausage. casings, the

`casings are vfirst cleaned, sorted. according to size or diameter, and. are measured Vinto runiform units sayfo/'f approximately one hundrediyards apiece.r nIn the method heretofore commonly em- .ployed the casings werethen -slushed in dryer semi-dry. common salt. salt casingswvere placed onracks vfor drainage. After/the drainage. `vvas completed, the casin'gs Ywere fplaced on fa' salt covered bench'and Wound into aharikon a` Wheelk Eachvhank was knotted or tied together andthe hanks were thenlpl'aced in tight tierces with additional salt for storage and subsequent shipment Ato 4the trade. This method-consumed a considerable amount Tof salt Afor the preservation o'f the casings (i.\ e'. 'on an average of approximately a `pound per hank)- Of this amountonly approximately 'fl'lpercent adheredy to the casingsf, the remainder of vthe salt .passing 'down the drain .pipes andlb'eing Wasted. Also considerable time "and labor Was required'forth .several operations. Heavy casks Werealso required'for "of labor resulted from 'the'necessity'of recounting and repacking `for'shipmejnttothe'consumer.

orjcustomer. In addition theold metho'ddidnot insure complete'v and uniform salt` 'penetration and very often caused 'partial or.Y total depreciation of .thergut tissues .originaltensile strength. Due to the evaporation of .the moisture lin the packed fcasings 'and the resultingdryness, the

-salt crystalsate `the .guttissuewhich Thereafter the slushed unwimiing of the hanks either" in .thev Wasting of considerable timeand .labor in unraveling of the yknots and tangles, or inthe Wastage 'of the knotted and tangled portions.

Thesed'isadvantagesand difficulties have long been recognized in the sausage casing industry,

butprior to the present vinvention no one has n been .able to overcome them.

'The present invention overcomes these difficulties byfmeans .of the method andpackage hereinafter described. The

various types of tissue deterioration, referred to above, ythat may iniict natural sausage casings either ybefore orduring their period'of preservation and also during the time that'they `are stored are known inthe vtradeas salt burn. lThe ,deterioration may be Icaused directly by salt crystals andtheir impurities or by bacterial vaction. It"V is `a iurtherjobject of lthisinvention to .provide an improved package, process 'and preservative which `Will substantially eliminate salt burn deterioration of the casings.

{lmy 4present .inventiony for In. 'the accompany drawing:

Y Fig. llis a partiallyfragmentary viewof naturalsausage casings prepared :in accordance with insertion in the envelope vor container;

storage, andduplication Eig. 2 is e longitudinal sections-'1 4View showing an envelope or container applied to a funnel and with the casings inserted therein;

Fig.`3 vis'avievv similarto Fig. 2 showing the liqudgpreservative in the envelopeand'also showingan attachment Which'may `befused in `injectn ing 'the preservative;

Fig. 4 isnalview or the compietedpackage with a portion of 'theenvelope brokenv awayso as to reveal the contents thereof; and

Fig. jis a'partially'rragmentary view offene type 'of apparatus'that may beusedin connection I .50

with my, method.

v'In carryingjout my method, thenatural sausage casingsare rst cleaned in theusualmam ner, assorted or graded diameter, and then measured into units of uniform length, the presentcomrnercial units `rbeing Also lat .timeshard rustiormed on according` to size or.

100 yards. To produce a unit of this length, it is naturally necessary to employ a: plurality of separate strands of casings.. I arranged the strands in each unit in generally parellel relationship as indicated at I in Fig. 1. The strands are usually of varying length and in arranging the strands I position one end of each of the strands in proximate relationship permitting the other ends of the strands to depend downwardly sion to permit the casings to be lifted by means of the ring II. However if suiicient pulling force is exerted upon the ring II and upon the depending ends of the casings, the slip knot will give and release the casing from the ring without' any damage or injury to the casings.

Either before or after the casings are attached t to the ring they are saturated with a substantially saturated solution `of common salt (i. e. sodium chloride) so as to prevent dilution of the salt solution which is used in my improved package as a preservative. As Willrbe more fully explained, I prefer to employ a saturated salt solution which is moderately acid in reaction having a pH Value of approximately between 5 and 6.

After the casings have been prepared in this fashion,l I then insert them in a suitable waterproof envelope or container. For this purpose, I prefer to employ a generally tubular envelope made of flexible water-proof material as indicated at Ill.' And for this purpose, I have found that acasing made of rubber, a rubber compound, or latex is very satisfactory.

To facilitate the inserttion of the casings in the envelope, a rack I5 may be employed havin-g a plurality of funnels I5 mounted thereon in substantially vertical o-r upright position. The restricted lower end of each funnel indicated at I'I is of a size or diameter to permit the upper end of envelope I4 to be disposed therearound. rIhe envelopes are placed around the lower end of the funnel in the manner shown and are held in position against accidental release by the tension of the rubber, although, if desired, suitable means such as strands of cord I8 tied therearound by means of a slip knot may be employedfor this purpose.

When the envelopes have been applied to the funnels in the manner indicated, it will be appreciated that it is a simple matter to insert the casin'gs through the funnels into the envelopes. In this connection the free depending ends of the casing should be inserted into the envelope first so that the ring I Iremains at the top as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3 so as to serve as a handie to facilitate the removal of the casings from the package when it is desired to use them. After the casings have been inserted, a liquid preservative is then injected into the envelope so as to substantially cover the casings as indicated at I9.

The liquid preservative preferably takes the form of a substantially saturated aqueous solution of sodium chloride as thisserves not only as a preservative but also as a dehydrating agent to prevent tenderizing action on the casings. In this connection I have found that salt burn or rust generally occurs where aneutral or slightly alkaline condition exists. I have also found that Whenthe salt penetrationuis better and more universal salt burn or rust is less likely to occur. By preserving the casings in a saturated solution of salt a. more complete and universal penetration is assured andthe casings may be preserved almost indefinitely with a high 4degree of safety and a minimum of deterioration. Furthermore I have found that by using a saturated brine which is moderately acid in reaction the safety factor is greatlyenhanced and salt burn or rust deterioration is substantially eliminated. In this connection, I prefer to employ a saturated solution of sodium chloride having a pH value of between approximately 5 and 6. 'The acid reaction may be imparted to the solution by adding thereto many different types of acids or I'acid salts such as acetic acid, hydrochloricl acid, or lactic acid. Sufficient acid or acid salt should be added to the saturated brine so as to give it a pH value of between approin'mately 5 and 6. If a dilute brinevis employed I have found that the acid causes a swelling of the tissue but by employwith a exible hose 25.

liquid preservative.

'ing a substantially saturated brine the swelling is avoided.

The preservative may be inserted in any desired manner. However I have found that it can be inserted conveniently and expeditiously by means of the apparatus shown in Figs. 3 and 5. This apparatus comprises a hood 20 for each of the funnels which is of a size and shape to fit over the top of the funnel and tightly engage the same. The funnel and hood may be provided with an interengaging rib and groove as indicated at 2I and a washer 22 is preferably positioned in `the hood so as to engage the upper edge of the funnel. The central portion ofthe hood is preferably provided with a tubular nipple 23 which is connected with a valve 24 which in turn connects As previously stated, a hood is formed for each of the rfunnels and the hoses 25 form the several hoods may connect to a unitary manifold 26 which communicates through valve 2'I with a tank 28 containing the The preservative may be fed from the tank by gravity, or as shown in the drawing by means of pressure, the tank 23 shown in the accompanyingV drawing being placed under pressure so as to force the liquid preservative to the Several hoods.

The flow of the liquid is controlled by means of the master valve 2l and also by'means of the individual valves 24 which are provided for each of the hoods. When the device'is in operation the master valve 21 may be left open and the flow of the preservative is controlled separately by the valves 24. f A

When suiiicient preservative has -been inserted in the envelope to cover the casings as shown in Fig. 3, the envelope is removed from the lower end of funnel I6 and the upper end thereof is then sealed in a suitable manner so as to prevent evaporation of the liquid fromV the interior of the envelope. When a rubber or latex envelope is employed `I have found that a satisfactory seal is obtained by forming the open end of the envelope into a tight knot as indicated at 25. When the envelope has' been sealed in this fashion my package and method lare completed and the package may be stored for a relatively long time or may be shipped directly to the n customer. l l

When the package is used by the customer (i. e. a sausage manufacturer) the top of the envelope is opened either by untying the knot 29, which is a simple matter, or by cutting the knot orf. The casings can be readily removed from the envelope in orderly fashion by merely grasping the ring Il and withdrawing it from the envelope. The casings When withdrawn are arranged in substantially parallel relationship and are free from knots and tangles. The ring can be conveniently removed from the ends of the casings in the manner previously described namely, by pulling the ring with reference to the casings until the slip knot releases. The casings are then immediately ready for use without any further treatment or Washing.

From the foregoing description of my invention, it Will be apparent that my method and packing results in considerable saving of time and labor due to the elimination of many of the steps heretofore used such as the formation of y after the casings but it should be appreciated that it may be insertedprior to or simultaneously with the casings.

I claim:

1. A package of -natural sausage casings comprising an envelope made of flexible Water-proof material and comprising an elongated member permanently closed at one end and provided with a seal at the opposite end to prevent the evap oration of moisture, a plurality of natural sauthe hank'whichnecessarily required the unvvinding of the hank. It also results in elimination of Wastage of the casings Which formerly resulted from the knotting and tangling of the casings and from the salt burn, hard rust and drying out of the casings. Economy in the use of salt or other preservatives also results from my method and package due to the fact that substantially all of the preservative is used and does not drain oi as in the former method. The costly and repetitious handling of the treated casings required by the former method and also the heavy Wooden tierces formerly employed are also eliminated. It will also be seen that my method' and package produces a sterile hygienic product of undiminished tensile strength due to the uniform and .complete penetration of the preservative into the casings and the type of preservative employed and described.

sage casings disposed in the envelope, means forming a handle releasably connected to one end of each of the casings by means of a slip knot, and a liquid preservative disposed in the envelope and substantially covering the casings said liquid preservative comprising a substantially saturated solution of sodium chloride containing therein an acid medium Which imparts to the solution a pI-I value of approximately between live and six.

2. A package of natural sausage casings comprising an envelope, a natural sausage casing disposedtherein and a liquid preservative consisting of asubstantiallysaturated solution of sodium chloride disposed in the envelope and covering the Casing said solution containing an acid medir um imparting a moderately acid reaction thereto. 

